Originally released in 1969, Easy Rider is widely regarded as the original road movie. It reflected the attitudes and longings of an entire generation, and was soon copied by other Hollywood studios. Two motorcyclists (Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda) embark on a coast to coast odyssey in search of the real America, encountering along the way the many faces of its big cities and small towns, a hippie commune, drugs and sex in a New Orleans bawdy house. The film also marks the magnificent performance by Jack Nicholson which brought him to international attention. Easy Rider was the official U.S. entry in the Cannes Film festival in 1969 where it came away with the award from Best Film By A New Director (Hopper).